It was a beautiful day! The temps climbed into the 70s! Liz and I had thoughts of riding, but decided to stay home and get the house squared away instead.
I took a mid-day break on the balcony to enjoy the fresh air with my son’s fur buddy Akira.
The place is really coming together and feeling like home.
The trend is to post an AI-generated cartoon version of yourself.
Here are ours.
Dale “Top Shelf” Stiles and Liz “5 Star” Stiles.
There is a specific kind of peace that comes from not looking at the clock.
Just standing on the balcony, coffee in hand, letting the morning drift by.
I hope you find a moment today where you don’t have to rush.
Megan has joined us in Virginia! She arrived just before Midnight under the Wolf Super Moon. She was greeted by a small herd of deer relaxing in a neighboring yard.
Happy New Year’s Eve!
2025 was a rough year for a lot of us but we made it through and I believe we’re going to kick 2026 off with a bang.
I wish you the very best in the coming year.
Merry Christmas 2025. First one in the new home. We said goodbye to the familiar, embraced the new, and ended up exactly where we belong. Grateful for the peace and blessings of this season. We hope you have a blessed year.
It’s amazing how a change in environment can make things look completely different. We curated our holiday decorations from decades of moving around, but looking at them now, you’d think we paid someone to decorate our home.
My wife has an incredible eye. She took the pieces we had and integrated them perfectly into the traditional architecture of this home.
It feels timeless, like it’s always been this way. I am really proud of the work she put in to create this atmosphere. She absolutely nailed it.
Then she made hot chocolate for me from scratch. She warmed up real milk, put in real chocolate, and served it to me in one of my favorite mugs. Yes, I know I am spoiled.
by Dale Stiles | on December 11, 2025
I am fixing to get underway on a sea going vessel for the first time since 2010!
Liz and I are going to set sail on the Spirit of Norfolk for a dinner cruise.
by Dale A. Stiles | on December 10, 2025
Wishing you an evening of peace and tranquility.
This is one of my favorite photos of our bikes on our trip to OKC this past weekend. We are parked outside of the Oklahoma Department of Aerospace and Aeronautics. We walked down to Tellers in The National building.
My wife and I are making the most of this life.
Liz wanted to stop at Magnolia’s as we passed through Waco. Little did we know the were in the middle of their 9th Annual “Silo-Bration.” I’m not much for crowds but we really enjoyed this stop.
It was October, but there was plenty of very natural looking Christmas goodies everywhere we looked.
Liz and I both thought this was a fantastic photo opportunity. I even ended up taking photos for a short line of folks. I took several angles for each and the more amazed expressions people expressed, the longer the line grew. Eventually Liz told everyone we had to go and told one group they were the last ones.
“EVERYONE HAS A STORY WORTH TELLING“
This resonated with both of us so we had to get this selfie. This might have been the most difficult selfie to capture because people were everywhere… and then… we got this photo in the midst of the crowd. They paused just long enough… that we got this photo.
Bike Night
Saturday, October 12, 2024
Saturday morning Liz and I woke up early, got ourselves cleaned up, and dressed before stepping out on the balcony with a bowl of plain Greek yogurt with fresh blueberries and raw organic honey and a cup of Black Rifle Tactisquatch Roast coffee. All around us, we started seeing our brothers and sisters emerging from their respective cabins. Most of them had lofts with extra beds while ours only had one bedroom.
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After breakfast, we traveled over to the Kalahari Resort in Round Rock for the Texas State photo. This is the second time we’ve taken the photo with a drone. It gets the job done, but the photo turns out a bit grainy.
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Sunday, October 13, 2024
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This trip was a little different, we drove Liz’s Durango R/T, towing her brand-new sharkskin blue 2024 Harley-Davidson RG3. The road to Little Rock felt shorter knowing we were rolling in with a fresh set of wheels ready to be broken in.
Sign says Welcome to Arkansas and the song on the radio is “A Little Past Little Rock” by Lee Ann Womack and Jason Sellers. Who did that?!!!
We stopped at the hotel, got checked in, and then unloaded her trike. We had no idea where we were, where we were going, and we didn’t have a backrest for the trike.
Liz has been riding a CanAm and is new to the clutch so she insisted I ride the bike while she held on for dear life on the back.
We rode from the hotel over to the meet and greet at the Fraternal Order of the Eagles in the rain. We got stuck in traffic and it made both of us uneasy since we were parked on a series of bridges on the highway surrounded by 18-wheelers. So, I looked around and decided to make a quick exit from the highway.
From there, we asked around and found an alternate route through town. It wasn’t the best, but we both felt more comfortable. The lot was full of old friends, new introductions, and that familiar CVMA® camaraderie that makes the miles worthwhile.
Liz and I got to enjoy several rounds of Karaoke while we spent time with everyone.
Saturday was all about Bike Night. Liz’s RG3 turned more than a few heads as we parked among the rows of chrome and custom builds. Stories flowed as freely as the music and laughter, and once again we were reminded that the real highlight of these rallies isn’t the ride, it’s the people.
Skrape and Liz
Skrape’s bike Delilah
Top Shelf, Ya-Ya, and 5 Star
Top Shelf from CVMA® TX 23-1 and Half Tank from CVMA® OK 10-1.
Top Shelf and Skrape
Liz and I really enjoyed singing Karaoke together!
Top Shelf, Woobie, and Grunt from CVMA® TX 23-1
By Sunday morning, it was time to pack up the Durango, load the bike, and head for home. Another rally complete, another chapter in our journey together.
On the way out of town, we stopped for a photo at the National Cemetery.
We stopped in Russellville to visit with Uncle Frank, my cousin Kereigh and her husband Walter. We enjoyed a fantastic lunch together and had several laughs.
I was standing outside and thought this would make for a great photo. I’m not disappointed with it.
The following evening…
Liz and I went for a late night ride and spotted the moon rising just above the horizon. The Strawberry Moon was last night, June 21st, but it still looked full this evening and had a pink hue to it due to being so close to the horizon.
If you know me, you know I don’t pass up a good photo opportunity. I was very impressed with the sight in front of us and was wondering how I was going to find a safe spot to capture it when Liz started flashing her brights at me. I pulled over and she said she wished we could get a picture of it. –Wish granted my dear, wish granted. Love you baby.
Full disclosure, this photo has some trickery to it. This is actually three photos morphed together. I took a photo of the moon with Liz and I standing side by side looking at the bikes. Then Liz took a photo of me sitting on my bike, and I took a photo of her on her bike.
After matching the second and third photos together as best I could in composition and scale, I removed my bike with AI tools, and then with the photo of me in a layer underneath the photo of Liz, I “painted” a transparent hole into the top layer revealing the bottom layer. And just like that, we were both on our bikes.
I enhanced the moon’s texture by laying the first photo under the latter two. In that first photo, I changed the settings on my iPhone to dim the lighting and maximize the texture on the moon. With that photo underneath the other two, all I had to do was make the top photos transparent so I could adjust the bottom one in composition and scale, then “paint” a hole so the best version of the moon could show through.
When I was satisfied with that look, I flattened the image, then further enhanced it by removing trash on the side of the road, light refractions that distracted from the scene, and removed some of the noise that is typically present in night shots.
The bigger story here is that we had a very nice ride together. Her CanAm has a performance muffler that is considerably louder but higher pitched than my Harley and when you pair them together, it’s an interesting sound. You might call us the Thunder Duo!
I captured another sunset with my Silverado RST. It’s almost the same shot as earlier this week but this one seemed to reflect the sun off my bald head back onto the truck or something. There is a strange orange spot that I can’t quite explain. It might be a reflection within the camera sensor, but it looks like it is on the truck!!! LOL!
Two years ago today, June 6, 2022, I found myself in Tecumseh, Oklahoma, alongside a good friend, embarking on a mission to take my Silverado RST Z71 from rugged off-road warrior to sleek street performer.
Thanks to Derrick’s countless hours of research, we turned my off-road beast into a street truck sensation.
This truck always gets compliments, wherever we may roam.
I spotted these two supercells north of me on my way back to work this evening and thought I’d get in a good position to take a photo to share.
These two cells got busy dropping a lot of rain up in Oklahoma. They are now part of a line of storms with heavy rain, high winds up to 70 mph, and potentially large hail from Manitou up to Tulsa.
I captured this amazing shelf cloud coming in as the sun was setting. I don’t know what to say except it is much better to experience it in person with the wind blowing through the trees. I’m thankful I encountered this epic phenomena this evening. It was incredible.
Liz and I went out for a short ride this afternoon. The severe thunderstorm warnings and tornado watches were going off on the radio and on our phones as we pulled into town. We stopped for this picture, and then put the bikes back in the garage.
I’m double checking the models and the radar picture and from what I can tell, it looks like we’re going to get some good hard rain, but hopefully that is the extent of it. Looks like a typical spring thunderstorm but these things tend to have a mind of their own so keep an eye on it till it passes.
I do see some crazy 80 mph winds out near Oklaunion, but that doesn’t look like it is going to head to Burkburnett. There is a nasty storm down around Olney that looks to be headed more eastward. I’d definitely keep my eye on that cell if you’re over that way.
Y’all be safe out there, some will certainly experience severe weather this evening.
USS CARNEY May 12, 2024
BZ CARNEY WARRIORS!!!
Welcome home!
I took my beautiful wife out to eat.
Happy 31st Anniversary to my beautiful wife! From the first day we met to this moment, every day with you has been a blessing. You bring light, love, and laughter into my life in ways I never imagined. Here’s to countless more adventures, memories, and love-filled years together. I am endlessly grateful to have you by my side. I love you now and always. 
This afternoon, we gave Liz’s Durango R/T Blacktop a mini detail. This evening we took it out for a few photos.
Liz normally insists on getting the base models and I’ve always wanted her to have something nicer because I think she deserves it. After she drove a few vehicles with some real power, she was grinning from ear to ear like a little girl. We both drove a 6.2L Supercharged Charger with 710 horsepower and that was just insane. When it was all said and done, she said she’d like to have the Durango if I’d buy it for her. Well… I bought it… and she loves it.
Cruising with the sunroof open on Liz’s Durango during golden hour was so relaxing. We both had a blast!
Liz is loving her new Durango R/T! We had a great time cruising with the sunroof open tonight. Despite the slight chill, it was nice to let the fresh air in from above.
Dodge refers to the Durango R/T as an Iconic Muscle SUV.
With 360 horsepower and 390 pound-feet of torque coming out of the 5.7L HEMI® V8, I’m going to agree.
Liz seems very pleased with it as well.
Balancing the gut/brain connection has many benefits, but I want to illustrate one very important benefit to me. The ability to reverse metabolic disease and prolong health. It might, possibly increase longevity, but I want to focus on living without disease for as long as possible.
My mom was struggling with disease so I encouraged her to try out the same foods I was eating because they helped me heal my gut. It worked! Even though my symptoms, and hers, would be considered very different, we both benefitted from changing what we ate which led to an improved gut brain balance.
I had serious anxiety and discomfort because my gut was a complete wreck. Mom had a stroke and while she was in the hospital, she was diagnosed with diabetes, hypertension, and dementia.
Even though the symptoms were very different, the same thing that caused my anxiety, caused her health issues, we ate a lot of processed, high carbohydrate foods. In fact, those health issues, which went undiagnosed, possibly led to her stroke. The solution for both of us was a change in what we ate. Healing the gut doesn’t just apply for heartburn and reflux, it applies to all sorts of metabolic diseases and impacts our mental health.
Our gut and our brains are connected physically and chemically. Bringing balance to the mechanisms that control both, allow our bodies to reduce inflammation, heal, and finally relax. There is a chance that folks that are upset with everyone and everything, can benefit from a gut healing regimen.
It would take years to reverse Mom’s dementia and at her age, I’m not sure we’ll ever see that happen, but over time, her cognitive abilities have improved to the point that we can have meaningful conversations again and her blood glucose numbers are back in the normal range. She has long term memories that she shares, but her short term memories still suffer. We accomplished this together, in less than a year, with food.
Health Coaches are not allowed to “treat” others but I wasn’t a health coach when I started this process. I was just a suffering human looking for answers and since they worked, I helped my mom when she desperately needed it. So while I can’t “treat” anyone else, I can coach you as you look for your own answers.
The one benefit… is being able to enjoy meaningful conversations with my Mom again.
Stress can come from a variety of places. When we use the word stress, we get sort of stressed out don’t we? I think the word has been misused a lot and in ways that are sort of negative.
There are different types of stress.
– Biological (elevated cortisol levels)
– Chemical (pesticides or pollution)
– Emotional (anxiety or grief)
– Physical (strenuous activity)
Adaptogens help the body resist the effects of stress by counteracting damage and promote healthy functioning.
Adaptogens are certain herbs, spices, roots, and mushrooms that can make the body more resilient to different types of stress. These substances help the body cope with the effects of stress while lowering the damages that stress creates. The most common effects are fatigue or depression.
Since chronic stress can negatively affect our gut health, it is important to experiment with stress reducing routines and substances like adaptogens on a case by case basis. They are considered safe and have few side effects, but each person should read the effects and side effects of each to determine which adaptogens are beneficial and which should be avoided or used with caution. Some will interact with some medications so always research each supplement you consider taking before you take it.
There is a lot of confusion around obesity and diabetes but here are some statistics to make you scratch your head a little further.
According to Colette Heimowitz, MS; research has been unable to identify which factors have contributed to the epidemics of diabetes and obesity.
Total sugar intake was up 15%
High fructose corn syrup intake was up 960%!!! (WHOA!!!)
Household television viewing was up 34%
Regular exercise was up 2%
The quantity and quality of our foods decreased a lot during this time period. It got even worse from 2010 – 2022. As a health coach, I don’t give recommendations but understanding how the body burns or stores carbohydrates points to eating less carbohydrates and more protein and fat. We are all bio-individuals so what is comfortable for one, is less comfortable for others.
The body stores carbohydrates as fat in the form of triglycerides. We would do well to burn off those excess carbohydrates by not eating so many carbohydrates in the first place.
There are many dietary choices that work, they all work short term but none of them work long term. Reducing carbohydrates seems to work better than other formats. Removing sugars and grains helps tremendously with inflammation and pain in many participants.
Someone who is more active, can eat and burn off more carbohydrates than someone who sits in class, works in an office, or is inactive most of the day. So, there is no one-size-fits-all recommendation. Each person has to decide how much carbohydrate they need. The more overweight a person is, the less carbohydrate they should eat on a daily basis. Some diets, like the carnivore diet, are extremely low and these diets are beneficial, at least in the short term, in helping obese and type II diabetic clients get back to a healthy weight quicker than a client that continues to eat a high carbohydrate diet.
Eliminate all packaged foods and shift towards whole foods from the outside of the store. We’ve all heard this before so it’s nothing new. A client can find whole foods in the produce, meat, and dairy sections of the supermarket. Locally grown produce, meat, and dairy are in good supply at most famer’s markets. In doing this, a client is not in the candy or soda aisle at all and the only aisle they would typically need to go down would be the spice aisle and the aisle with the coffee and tea.
Plenty of carbohydrates are in the produce section so reminding a client that they should limit how many high sugar fruits they eat and increase good quality protein and fat. Vegetarians and vegans can find plenty of choices but omnivores and carnivores will have an easier time. Even if it is just for a few weeks or a few months. People report feeling many times better when the inflammation from too many carbohydrates starts to subside.
Cut carbohydrates further to accelerate weight loss until the client is close to or has achieved their goals. Add good quality carbohydrates back to the diet while closely monitoring the scale to determine what their carbohydrate balance is. How much is too much? How much is not enough? It will be different for each person.
The final step is when a client has reached their goal and they know what their carbohydrate balance is and they are able to maintain their weight and blood sugar.
Written by Dale A. Stiles for daleastiles.com on December 30, 2022
